Five members of a family have been charged with child cruelty after allegedly keeping two young children in makeshift cages at their home.

The grandfather, grandmother and three aunts were arrested in Glasgow after it was reported that a nine-year-old girl they cared for failed to return home from school.

The Crown Office confirmed that four women and a man had appeared at Glasgow sheriff court charged with cruel and unnatural treatment. They made no plea or declaration and were granted bail.

It is understood that police investigating the disappearance of the young girl visited a house in the Cardonald area of Glasgow and found converted baby cots in which the girl and an eight-year-old boy were allegedly kept.